In Brief

BOXING

WBA champ Khan to defend 140-pound title in Las Vegas

Amir Khan will defend his WBA 140-pound title Dec. 11 in the British champion's debut at Mandalay Bay Events Center.

Khan will meet Argentina's Marcos Maidana (29-1, 27 knockouts).

Khan (23-1, 17 KOs) won a silver medal at the 2004 Athens Olympics and has evolved into a star, claiming a world title with a victory over Andreas Kotelnik last year. He successfully defended his belt in New York in May, stopping Paulie Malignaggi in the 11th round.

Khan said he has been eager to fight in Las Vegas for several years, hoping to raise his international profile.

He agreed to what could be a difficult fight against Maidana, who has won four straight fights since losing a split decision to Kotelnik last year.

Also: Nearly six decades after it first opened, Angelo Dundee's 5th Street Gym is back in the boxing business.

Dundee was at the new facility for its unveiling Thursday night, and the 89-year-old trainer called the reopening "a great night for boxing."

Dundee's brother, Chris Dundee, opened the original gym in 1951, and it eventually hosted Muhammad Ali, Joe Louis, Rocky Marciano, Sugar Ray Robinson and countless others. It was torn down 17 years ago.

Former world champion Ricky Hatton was stripped of his boxer's license after the British Boxing Board of Control found him guilty of misconduct following newspaper revelations of drug use.

basketball

Smart expected to replace Nelson as coach of Warriors

Golden State coach Don Nelson is expected to part ways with the Warriors on Monday.

ESPN.com reported Keith Smart will replace Nelson.

Nelson has a record 1,335 victories, but he never has led a team to a championship. He passed Lenny Wilkens' record of 1,332 wins April 7, near the close of the fourth season in his second stint with the Warriors.

Also: Los Angeles Lakers center Andrew Bynum is unlikely to play in the preseason while finishing rehabilitation from surgery on his right knee.

Bynum delayed surgery to participate in the Lakers' run to their second straight NBA title, averaging 8.6 points and 6.9 rebounds while starting all 23 playoff games. He then made a trip to South Africa for the World Cup, postponing his surgery for several more weeks.

The Phoenix Suns extended coach Alvin Gentry's contract through the 2012-13 season.

The move essentially is a one-year extension because three months ago the Suns exercised an option on his previous deal that ran through the 2011-12 season.

Detroit Pistons owner Karen Davidson said she's still hopeful a deal to sell the team can be done by the Pistons' first game in late October.

Davidson didn't give any more details about the sale while appearing at a back-to-school event benefiting Oakland County (Mich.) schools. She said there are leading candidates but didn't say who they are. She said the sale is "progressing very well."

Angel McCoughtry and Swin Cash each scored 16 points to lead a balanced U.S. offense in a 99-73 win over Greece at the women's basketball world championship in Ostrava, Czech Republic.

MISCELLANEOUS

QB Harris leads No. 19 Miami to 31-3 victory over Pittsburgh

Jacory Harris led quick touchdown drives to start each half as No. 19 Miami dominated Pittsburgh much like it did when the schools were Big East rivals, winning 31-3 on Thursday in Pittsburgh.

Harris had two more floater-type interceptions like the four he threw in the Hurricanes' 28-14 loss to No. 2 Ohio State two weeks ago but shook them off to throw for two scores and 248 yards while going 21 of 32.

The Hurricanes (2-1), faster, deeper and more athletic than the Panthers (1-2), seldom gave Pitt quarterback Tino Sunseri any time to throw in his third college start, and he was pulled in the fourth quarter after completing 8 of 15 passes for 61 yards.

Also: The NCAA rejected Middle Tennessee's appeal, forcing quarterback Dwight Dasher to sit out his full four-game suspension for accepting a $1,500 loan.

David Beckham will file a lawsuit in Germany against the U.S. magazine Touch, which published claims the soccer superstar had sex with prostitutes.

Rock N Roll Heaven won the $604,100 Little Brown Jug -- the second leg of the pacing Triple Crown -- at Delaware County Fairgrounds in Delaware, Ohio, matching the world record for 3-year-old pacers on a half-mile track by finishing in 1:49 2/5 in his heat race and the final.

The Durango Fall Classic girls volleyball tournament, which begins at 3 p.m. today at Durango, Foothill and Green Valley, features 17 teams ranked in the top 100 in the country by prepvolleyball.com. Eight local teams are set to compete, including defending Class 4A state champion Silverado and state runner-up Green Valley.

The top returning team from last year's tournament is Newport Harbor (Calif.), which finished second to Archbishop Mitty (Calif.) in the 2009 Championship Bracket finals.

Assumption (Ky.), ranked No. 5 nationally, and eighth-ranked La Costa Canyon (Calif.) also are in the field.

Saturday's championship match is scheduled for 6 p.m. at Durango.